


One day at a time

by Ignatii



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Graphic Description, Hurt Prompto Argentum, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Poor Prompto Argentum, Promnis - Freeform, Protective Chocobros (Final Fantasy XV), Protective Gladiolus Amicitia, Protective Ignis Scientia, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-25 01:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30081093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignatii/pseuds/Ignatii
Summary: Sabertusk are easy animals to hunt. Everybody knows it. Meanwhile, a gamma sabertusk appears and causes everything to fall. Prompto falls seriously injured, feeling a useless fraud and it is up to the team to remind him of when he is important. And that becomes a special function for Ignis.orProm's self-esteem is horrible and he is badly hurt.  And there are ignis feeling new things for an youngest friend.[Story completed!]
Comments: 11
Kudos: 20





	1. The prince's bad mood and Prompto's low self-esteem

**Author's Note:**

> Another with the tag "hurt Prompto"... I was very distressed and thrilled with FFXV and I fell in love with Prom and Iggy...  
> I really like Gladdy and Noc too, but Prom is my beautiful yellow bird. And of course I end up hurting him in the stories.  
> But, now, having finished writing the last chapter, I believe I let myself go and I think this will end with a "Promnis"...  
> What do these boys do to me, my god? I just love them so much!

“Not as many as we thought, are we, Igster?” Prompto said as he celebrated, aiming at the target - the head of a sabertusk who nibbled on a carcass far from the package.

“Apparently, they don't seem that many, really. Mr. Takka requested ten hunting tests. As far as I can tell, I believe that we will have more than enough in this group.” Replied the counselor, calmly, looking at the desert space with an analytical eye.

“Don't be too happy, blondie! Last time, I had to save your skinny ass from becoming a demon snack!" The shield laughed out loud, already walking in the direction where the animals snarled.

"Indeed. Gladiolus is correct, Prompto. Please to try more carefully this time." Ignis added.

"Oh! By the Six, you destroy my self-esteem, Ig! And you, Gaddy, I chose these pants to favor me and highlight my good physical attributes and you are killing me!”

“What physical attributes? Those little bird muscles?" Gladio laughed even louder as he raised his sword and showed his own muscular attributes.

“Duuuude! If you want to rub my face on the floor, just let me know! I do it myself!" the youngest complained, pouting.

"Would you two bother to end this exhibitionism, so that we can work around here a little?" the advisor scolded, trying not to laugh.

“Sure, Iggy! After I'm done with these overgrown wolves here, let's see who has bird muscles!” The gunner held the revolver in one hand and nudged his best friend, who had been silent the entire time. “What is it, Noct? Ready to give your blue light show?"

"Whatever... let's get this over with..." replied the prince, sullen, with a bad mood that tasted worse than any of the alcoholic drinks Cid prepared.

"Come on, man! Cheer up and shine! It's not every day that we have such easy gils! And soon we can taste that spicy jambalay at Hammerhead, if you like! Hey, Igster, how about a night off from the kitchen?"

“Prompto! Stop talking and let's get to work! Up there! Go now!" Gladio shouted, pointing to a higher stone, where the gunner could hit the creatures better." And don't take so many pictures this time, I need you to pay attention! "

"You know how to take all the shine and joy out of the situation, rigth?" the youngest replied, blinking, as he climbed the rocky slope quickly. He was lying on his stomach, his belly resting on the rock, his elbows on the floor, revolver in hand.

It didn't take long, and soon the package of sabertusk seemed sold.

Ignis easily dropped two creatures at a time, one with each dagger. Several fell under their perfect attack.

Gladio ended up with three or four at once with the huge sword. It was impossible to stop the shield attacks, it was like a ball knocking down several bowling pins with one stroke.

And Noctis, impressively, was not in stasis! So beautiful as it warp in brilliant blue flashes, Luci's magic running through his veins and showing why he was the chosen king.

From where he was, Prompto was able to cover his friends' backs, shooting the sabertusks in the head easily. He just fired. A bullet for each sabertusk head, he managed to shoot just five, in his count. He didn't even need to sweat, he didn't need elegance, he didn't need anything, to be honest... On second thought, anyone could do what he did, Prompto thought.

In fact, everything there seemed easy... very easy to tell you the truth...

In less than thirty minutes of battle, Gladio took a satisfied breath and looked around, savoring the victory.

Ignis immediately asked “Is everyone all right? Is anyone hurt?" while glimpsing all the dead creatures. One of the daggers melting into a blue glow. His hair was still impeccably groomed, and his blazer showed only a little desert dust. He could turn any activity into a class of elegance and dexterity.

The shield sent a smile to the advisor and a joke to the prince “This way, everything is in order, what about you, Noctis? Still in a bad mood?”

“I'm fine. This heat that makes me like this.”

“And what doesn't bother you and looking only at yourself?” Gladio laughed, letting the sword disappear in Arminger. He knew how to poke the little wounds in the prince's personality.

“The desert heat certainly doesn't help!” Noctis grunted, to which Ignis approached with an energy drink for the youngest and a protein bar for the oldest.

“Restore your energies while I gather evidence of our hunt for Mr. Takka.” said Ignis, while using the remaining dagger to collect the trophies.

From where he was, Prompto let the revolver disappear in the Arminger and admired that complicity. They didn't need anyone to tell them what to do or what animals to slaughter.

They were such a cohesive team...

They seemed insurmountable...

Invincible.

For a moment, the blonde thought how good it would be to be part of such a group and have friends like those... At the same time that he felt part of the team, he felt out of the team. It was a paradoxical feeling, especially when he needed to stay that way, away or on top of a rock to get a better aim.

Without thinking twice, he took his camera and took some pictures...

Gladio laughing at Noctis' messy hair and best friend trying to keep his hair in place despite sweat making his hair fall on his forehead.

Elegant Ignis, the outfit practically impeccable after a battle, collecting evidence that they had exterminated the Sabertusk pack.

Would he ever really deserve to be part of that group? He didn't feel he was worthy... How many animals did he manage to slaughter? He tried to do the math again... Certainly, the others had achieved much more than he did.

Prompto turned the camera on him and looked at the photos he had just taken. It was really beautiful to see how well the three of them matched... Without realizing it, his index finger was pressing the button and he was looking at the photos from the previous day. And the other day too... How many days ago did Insomnia fall? It looked like it had happened a long time ago.

When he realized, the gunner was already teary-eyed and a lump was forming in his throat. After that, everything happened quickly in the blonde's mind.

He was invited to be part of that party because he was a friend of the prince. At the beginning of that trip, they were going to Noctis's wedding and it was obvious that the advisor and the shield would be accompanying them.

Then, he felt a crack, something in his mind broke...

He was only there because he was invited to the wedding of the prince, and he hadn't even finished the training.

In the last week, before leaving, Gladio had still complained to him that training swords made of wood did not win battles... That the crownguards were strong and were ready for any situation that appeared, no matter how adverse it was.

Prompto had not even managed to raise Gladio's true sword properly or had demonstrated dexterity with daggers like Ignis. He just knew how to aim and shoot, and thanked every day for the hours he had spent with Arcade games. Looking closely at the pictures on his camera, he has been feeling lost since the tragedy befell Lucis.

He kept repeating to himself. "I had not finished his training! How I could protect Noctis?! And the tour trip turned into a war trip, a life-and-death struggle. And I hadn't even finished my damn crownguard training!"

And what was he doing to be useful? To really help Noctis to get the Royal Arms, to get to Altissia, to manage to find Lady Lunafreya? On the day they went to find the first tomb, he almost died of claustrophobia... it was very difficult not to let everyone know what was going on.

Furthermore, photos did not kill creatures, photos did not prevent imperial troops from chasing Noctis...

Pictures didn't help at all... They only made Gladio complain in his ear that he wasn't paying attention, that Ignis said they needed to rest while Noctis and he were looking at the camera every night...

So, was that what he was? A friend who needed to become a crownguard? He wasn't even a professional photographer to deserve to be in the prince's entourage...

The blonde's mind snapped again...

"Oh... I'm a fraud! I am an amateur photographer, a friend of the prince, who thinks he can play the bodyguard!” He said more to himself than to anyone. Then, he hugged the camera, cringed and allowed the tears to run down his face while looking at the photo of everyone together in Takka's restaurant during breakfast.

In the low part of the ground, Ignis was approaching the prince and his shield.

“We are all tired, needing a night's rest. We haven't stopped a day since we arrived in Hammerhead and after we found your first Royal Arm, Noctis. I believe, Your Highness, that his bad mood is due to physical exhaustion, even though I tend to believe that this is a trait of his personality...”

“What are we seeing here? Ignis making a joke?” the shield replied.

“A good mood is able to release endorphins in the blood, which cause a feeling of well-being and improve the immune system. So, it is logical that I try to maintain a good mood, whenever possible.”

“Did you accept the proposal for a night off that the punk offered for everyone to dine on spicy jambalay?” Gladio laughed.

"Difficult times call for desperate measures... I am able to give up controlling all your food for just one night." the advisor looked around the small group, looking for the missing member. "Where's Prompto?"

“He must still be up there, admiring the photos of the battle.” Noctis said, his eyes searching for his best friend, finding the boy propped up on his elbows looking at the photos on the camera's LCD screen. “Hey, Prompto! You missed a rare moment here! Ignis was making a joke!”

The blonde wiped his eyes quickly and looked up at his friend.

“Really? Oh, man, I can't believe I missed it! Let me put the camera in the case and I'll be right down! I don't know how to warp or go through solid rocks... I know I'm just an appendix, but I don't want to be left behind…” Prompto said, his voice decreasing as he spoke.

Ignis knew that teary look, that look that pretended to be okay when everything important was falling apart. He had seen it in Noctis in the years after the accident that victimized the queen or when the Cidadel's doctor suggested some medications to improve the prince's mood. He also saw that look a few times when Prompto waited in the living room of the apartment while Noctis was stuck on some appointment. He tried to get to the blond, but the boy was slippery and always blamed the excessive amount of schoolwork or part-time work.

But the advisor had not had time to talk properly with Prompto. They traveled, everything fell apart and they were trying to keep their heads out of the water in that flood.

While Prompto wiped the desert dust off the camera lens, before putting it in the case and finally descending from the rock, the small group on his low ground saw something that made the blood of the three run cold.

A gamma sabertusk. The most assertive of the sabertusks. From what Ignis had researched, that pack did not have a leader. They found an alphatusk that Gladio killed with a few strokes of his sword, was the one that offered the most resistance.

But in spite of any research by Ignis, there was the gamma sabertusk. The four-legged beast approached Prompto in absolute silence, pure instinct of fierce and hungry.

After that, there was not much time between the moment when the advisor saw the beast or the moment when Noctis screamed with all the strength of his voice, his eyes already shining in a furious violet.

“Prompto! Heads up! A sabertusk gamma!"

And after Noctis screamed, it all turned into a huge mess of blood, screams and bright blue lights, while Gladio and Ignis tried to climb the rock to help the two most important boys in their lives.


	2. Gladio's little bird

“How did Prompto manage to climb this rock so fast? This is worse than the training climbing walls!” Gladio complained. He was more annoyed at being slow to reach the top than at the effort his body required.

“What do you have with you? Do you have any potions?” called Ignis, his voice broken and distressed.

“I have a potion, some water and some bandages, it will do...” replied the shield, already in the middle of the climb.

The advisor did not even attempt to climb. His eyes could see the fading blue glow. Noctis warping, fighting with the sabertusk and wielding the Royal Arm he had acquired in the last visited tomb. Ignis knew it would be more useful to prepare for when they brought Prompto.

“How are you up there?! Prompto, Noctis! Answer me!" but all the shield heard was the creature's furious growl and the sound of Noctis's ethereal sword whizzing through the air. He shouted as finished the last few meters of the desert rock escarpment. Would really remember to praise the gunner at later, because his calves burned trying to support his own weight and his arms cracked trying to reach the edge.

Suddenly, a silence made the shield tremble inside.

His hands and one leg were already at the edge of the rock. One more boost and he made it to the top in time to see Noctis almost in stasis.

The prince was in the farthest part of the plateau, with his hands on his knees and he was breathing hard, his mouth open to try to breathe in all the air his lungs demanded. He was tired, but he was alive and without any apparent injuries.

“Are you okay in there, Noctis?”

“Look... Look for Prom... He shot on the sabertusk..." he replied, visibly exhausted.

The sabertusk lay motionless in front of him, it looked dead, really. The corpse required deep cuts all over the body, between the thorns that came out of that amorphous mass. The bones of what appeared to be the animal's spine were broken and the huge tongue was stretched out on the floor, saliva running from its mouth on the floor. The sharp and pointed teeth were broken. However, what stood out the most was a large perforation right between the eyes. That shot must have been the fatal blow.

Then Gladio's amber eyes took a chance and landed on Prompto and the shield held its breath for a second. Perhaps for more than a second, because when he exhaled again, he was already around the gunner looking for what he could do to help.

The blond was lying on his back on the ground, facing Noctis and the corpse of the sabertusk.

The outstretched right arm still held the revolver tightly. His left arm was folded protectively against his chest while his beloved camera was somewhere close to him, outside the case, filled with desert dust.

The breathing was so shallow... The face, which was already pale, was white as a paper, livid, as if all the blood had been drained out of the body. Looking closely, the whole boy was really pale and shaking. And there was justification for that, there was so much blood spilled on his left arm, on his shirt, on the floor below him... He seemed to have taken a bloodbath.

“Calm down, friend... We are here for you...” Gladio said, as he approached cautiously, afraid that the youngest would be frightened. The blonde's hand still held the revolver firmly.

“Noct ... Is Noctis safe?” He asked, still with his eyes closed, between breaths when he heard the shield's voice.

“Yes, he is fine, we are all fine. Come on, give me the gun...”

“Oh... of course... I'm sorry, Gladdy... I didn't pay attention, I didn't see... I promise that... I pay atention.." he held out his right hand shaking, forgetting that he could just throw the gun back at Arminger.

Gladio took it and returned it to the ether, feeling a shiver. He liked big swords and sometimes forgot how deadly those little revolvers could be.

“Let's see the damage that sabertusk did to you, blondie..." the shield threatened to touch the boy's arm but Prompto withdrew and pulled the injured arm even closer to him.

“It was nothing... it was just a wound in the flesh, that's all..."

“From what I see, it doesn't just look like a 'wound in the flesh', but let's let Ignis decide how to treat it, okay? I'm just going to put a some wather and some bandages on it so that it doesn't get dirty anymore...” He spoke calmly, as much as he could in the face of that situation. "Just let me take a look, I promise I won't hurt anymore..."

“Just give me a minute... just one... please...”

It was noticeable that the blood oozing from the wound was missing inside the gunner's body, because his look seemed opaque. He cautiously extended his left arm to Gladio, that could see that the tear in the muscle was not extensive, but it was deep. If he paid attention, maybe he could see the ulnar bone of his arm.

“This is going to hurt... not much... but don't pull your arm back, okay?” Gladio said as Prompto nodded, agreeing. The shield then spilled some water on the wound to clean before breaking the potion. The gunner held his breath and bit his lower lip so hard, until he felt the rusty taste in his mouth, the pain was torture.

“Pleeeeeease, Gladdy, burn so much... enough... enouuuugh..." He replied, tired. "I promise... I pay attention in the other time... but stop this, pleeeease…"

“It's over, now... Come on, don't be so baby! It doesn't even burn that much!” but he knew that the pain was strong. What couldn't do was let Prompto see the commiseration in his shield's eyes.

“Don't be cruel… I’m not a baby...” the youngest complained, between shallow breaths. Her eyes watery, a pout forming in her delicate libs.

The shield broke a potion there and saw the meat working to close itself, while Prompto felt a relief run through his arm, a sensation of heat and a burning kind of good. That wound would need more than one potion, but for now, the bandage would handle the bleeding until they came down the rock.

By that time, Noctis had already recovered part of his breath and was approaching his friend, looking for the camera that was lost in the confusion... Prompto would be sad to see how it was scratched, but he removed some of the dust and kept it in the case anyway.

“Hey, Prom! How are you feeling?”

“I think... as if it had been chewed!”

“So, sir 'snack of sabertusk', can we go? Ready to come down back?” Gladio commented, finishing wrapping the bandage and trying to put a smile on his face. He knew how impressionable the blonde was.

“My dear camera... Where's she...”

“I already kept it in the Arminger, she is a warrior!” Noctis joked, trying to get his friend's attention.

“Yeah... we already had a good time together... I think she was created by Cor becase she seems immortal... I like her so much..." Prompto started to digress, his eyelids slowly closed and he he started to relax, the adrenaline that kept him alert was already disappearing from his bloodstream.

“Hey, stay with me, my little bird! No naps on this trip!” said Gladio, while patting the little boy on the cheek.

“I'm awake... I swear..."

“Noctis, help me put Prompto on my back. And you, chocobo, hold my neck! I need my arms to come down to both of us!”

“No, no, no… No way! I can do it myself... I'm not that useless...” said Prompto, resting his good arm on the floor and standing.

Narrowing his eyes and looking right at him, he was not standing up. Nowhere in Eos would he be able to stand...

And that really wasn’t your best. He staggered forward and Noctis was quick to grab his shoulders and hug him so he wouldn't fall flat on his face, passed out.

"I'm here, Prom... Stay calm... Gladio, a little help here..."

“Let's go before he wakes up and claims he can do it all by himself again!”

Before long, they slid down the side of the escarpment, Gladio holding Prompto in his lap with one arm under his skinny shoulders and the other under his knees. Getting down was actually easier than getting up, it was like a toboggan run.

As soon as the shield's feet touched the ground, Ignis was already hovering over them.

“Your Highness, are you hurt?”

“I'm fine, Specs, just a little tired... That sabertusk gamma was not easy, but Prompto put a bullet right in his forehead!”

“And Prompto, how was his condition when you met him?”

“He lost a lot of blood from that arm. The sabertusk stuck his teeth in there and didn't let go. I tried with the Royal Arm, but only when Prom put a bullet in him, he dropped the arm! I think, now, Prom is more exhausted than any other injury. He just passed out.” the prince spoke in a single breath, a report that the shield then completed.

“The damn creature really caught our punk, the injury was ugly, the hole went to the bone! But I washed it, put a potion and bandaged it, what do you think?” said Gladio, showing his work and his precious little bird to the advisor, who was quick to unwrap the bandaged arm and check.

Prompto moved, grunted. His eyelids fluttered, his breathing quickened, he almost wake up but, murmuring nonsense things yet.

“The bruise and the bandage that was done looks good... Are you sure the wound was deep to the bone or was it just an impression?” demanded Ignis, his eyes narrowed and his face worried, as he checked the minor's right pulse. Prompto's breathing was not that deep, but his heartbeat was strong against the advisor's fingers, and that was more reassuring.

“I don't think it was that deep... The potion easily repaired the muscle.” The shield replied, realizing his friend's concern.

Animal bites could be very serious and infect quickly if not treated quickly. They could cause septicemia and death, especially if an external bone fracture was involved.

“How long has he been unconscious?”

“Only a couple of minutes at most... he passed out when he got up and we took the opportunity to go down with him...”

“He needs to wake up in the next few minutes, or I'm going to start worrying seriously.”

“He will... You will see...”

Ignis nodded and broke another potion on the wound that was still bleeding. Blood dripped slower than when Gladio found Prompto, but was still bleeding. The advisor carefully bandaged again so as not to press too hard and end up making a garrote, unintentionally. He ended up with a small knot as a medical care professional.

“I believe that, with this additional potion, he will hold on until we reach the haven to have dinner and rest. We'll hand over the hunting evidence to Mr. Takka tomorrow. We better move on before another pack appears. With one less staff member, we would have trouble exterminating them all.” Ignis said, trying to appear calm and collected. And he thought he was doing it until he felt Noctis's hand on his arm.

"He's strong guy, Specs... He'll be fine... I've seen Prompto recover from worse things in high school...”

“Was any of that stuff a sabertusk bite, Your Highness? ”

“No, but let's have faith in him... Isn't that what you always say to me?”

“He won a point there, Ignis. The blondie almost finished all the crownguard training! You had to see how he went up the rope ramp or beat anyone at the shooting range! No one could keep up with the brat, until Cor stopped to watch him shoot the targets once! We only lacked training with swords and daggers, but it would be the next step...” Gladio commented, proud of his apprentice. Prompto was still limp in his arms, but he knew it wouldn't be long before the your friend woke up.

Noctis soon led the way to the haven, while Gladio remained in the middle carrying Prompto and Ignis was in the rear. They would get there faster if they could run, but there was no need to mess up that unconscious little chocobo that much.

When they started walking at a pace that the gunner awoke, calming the heart of the advisor, who was watching from behind.

“Whoa... ow! What is happening..." the youngest asked, disoriented.

“You became a 'daemon snack' again!” Gladio replied, playfully, looking sideways downwards, seeing that the other did not move much. His body was still soft limp, which made the shield's job easier.

“Oh, I'm sorry... The taste of my little bird arm must be bad for him not to want to eat everything, right?”

“For sure! He wouldn't want a skinny arm!”

“If it were yours, he would have a very good snack...”

“Soon we will be at the haven and you will show us those photos that you hit from the top of the rock!”

“I took a lot of pictures... Iggy was so elegant... Noct was sweaty, he will laugh at his photo, he will tell me to delete it... and you were making fun of him...”

Prompto spoke the phrases slowly, his voice a little slurred, but at least he was awake and that was a good sign. Ignis was alert just behind them, watching everything going on, just as Noctis was ahead, trying to keep a steady pace.

Finally, it seemed that Prompto had slept in the arms of the shield... His regular breathing showed that.

“Rest, my little bird... We are coming soon on haven...”

Seeing that Gladio stopped looking in the direction of Prompto on his lap, Ignis quickened his pace, but the shield reassured him when they were close.

“He just slept...” explained shield.

“I think there is no problem. There was no concussion or anything like that. Let him rest, it will help his recovery.”

They continued to walk, Ignis did not go to the rear this time, he stayed by the side as they walked.

It hadn't been even fifteen minutes before Gladio noticed a change in his arms. He instinctively slowed his steps and looked at the gunner in your arms.

Prompto's breath was coming out in little quick sighs, as if he were going to hyperventilate at any moment and he was trying to say something, but he couldn't, it looked like he was choking on something.

“Gladdy… I need…”

“We are close to haven, be patient, Prom!”

“Down... Please…”

The shield didn't understand it at first, but when he felt the small body bend, he thought it might be some pain in his arm.

Ignis immediately realized what was going on. Prompto had covered his mouth with his right hand and small sobs shook his thin body in his shield lap.

“Gladiolos, let's put him down and hold him as much as possible...” the advisor calmly guided his amber eyes wide in his direction, and the shield obeyed.

Then Prompto knelt on the floor, with Gladio still holding him by the shoulders, and vomited a yellowish liquid, his body writhing in waves of spasms and tremors as his fair skin grew paler and paler.

The advisor placed one gloved hand on the younger friend's forehead, pulling the small golden hair locks so that they did not fall on his face, while the other hand made small calming circles on his back.

Then, another wave, a little more yellowish water spread over the desert floor, which quickly made all that liquid disappear into the soil.

“You are raining in the desert, Prompto! The Six will be grateful to you!” joked Gladio, relieved when the youngest looked at him in embarrassment. He seemed more awake and in less pain at the time. The shield had already seen that reaction in the crownguard cadets after very tiring days of training or after being badly injured. It was normal for them to be sick or even to vomit.

"We've all had our stomachs out a few times in our lives, you needed to see Noctis the first time you got drunk!" Gladio said, while holding Prompto by his thin shoulders.

“Here... little sips...” those green eyes looked at the blonde with affection. He knew how bad it was becose Prompto loved it and he also hated being cared for and pampered. It was paradoxical, but that was Prompto. Ignis offered the small bottle of water and placed it in the gunner's right hand, which he drank a little, still shaking.

"It is better to throw up water than to throw up dry, dear Prom..."

"Okay, okay, Iggy... little sips..."

With Gladio's help, Prompto straightened up a little, almost on his feet. The left arm bandaged against his chest.

“You did great service here, Igster... This bandage is perfect..." the youngest was admiring the green eyes that still looked into his, trying to look better. After throwing up, he really felt better.

“It will be good when you recover completely..." Ignis said with an affectionate look for the youngest friend.

The three could see Noctis approaching, worried, but when he was about to ask, the advisor explained it earlier.

“Probably the blame was on the rush of adrenaline caused by the trauma to the arm. This caused nausea. But I think it's better now... Shall we continue? Gladio, could you...”

When I heard him preparing to carry his precious friend, he replied.

“I can walk! I'm back and very well, guys! Shall we get another pack of sabertusk? We will receive twice as many gils!” Prompto exclaimed, a sudden wave of heat running through his body as he gestured as if he were shooting and blowing the revolver's hot barrel.

A new adrenaline rush had been sent through his bloodstream and he could feel it burning inside.

Everyone accepted it well, even if suspicious.

Prompto knew how to disguise the evidence when he was feeling bad, he didn't like looking weak in front of others. And that internal heat burning inside him kept him steady as they resumed walking, albeit at a slower pace.

They needed to get to Hammerhead.

The things were better, Prompto was better, everyone was calmer after a little setback.

Everything was back to normal. They would take the gils for the hunt, dine Takka's spicy jambalay and return to the haven for light the fire, tell stories and the team's photographer would show his best photos.

The younger ones would play King's Knight in the camping tent until they fell asleep with their cell phones in their hands.

Gladio would confiscate the devices until the following night and lie down behind Noctis, just as Ignis would lie down behind Prompto and watch his favorite two boys sleep peacefully until the next morning.

But this history was not one of Gladio's sugary romance books and things couldn't get any worse.

After all, sabertusk were not poisonous.

Or were they?


	3. Ignis's care

Gladio and Ignis stayed a little behind while Noctis and Prompto walked next to each other, the prince almost bored.

“Now that you're back... Duuude, what was that about? You hit an expensive bullet from right on target, in the middle of that horrible creature's head!”

“Years of Arcade games, baby... But you don't have to be jealous, because that new Royal Arm was amazing! You are not left behind!” Prompto laughed, that knowing smile that Noctis adored. But the blue eyes went against the smile, and the prince suspected.

“And the your arm? How are doing? That really got you!”

“It's almost good... It hurts a lot when I try to move it, but if keep quiet, doesn't hurt much... that potion was worth it!”

“I want to get there soon on hotel and take a hot shower, I want so much a soft bed! This desert is killing me!” Noctis complained, returning to his usual mood.

“But Ignis said that we are going to haven...”

“What the hell! I forgot that! Now that my bad mood is going to get really bad!” said the prince, kicking a pebble in front of his boot.

“When are you in a good mood, huh?”

“Well... maybe while I win a game of King's Knight, you never know..."

“Oh, don't even think about it! I will finish you tonight! My army is super strengthened, Noc! After you fell asleep yesterday, I went ahead and went up twenty levels!”

“This should be considered betrayal against the crown, Prom!”

“But can you still make a law about it, Noct? Like, betrayal of the crown for beating the king in King's Knight? You will need to put in the dungeons many people if it becomes law!”

Noctis laughed at his friend's comment. Since high school, only Prompto was able to make him really smile. Before that, he had forgotten what it was to smile.

But the gunner started walking more slowly after a while.

He didn't know if it was the heat of dusk in the desert, or if it was adrenaline stirring him again, but Prompto knew he was getting slightly blurred, the little black dots crawling around his periphery like little spiders in your vision. And he felt heat rising through his body in the same way that he felt goosebumps down his spine.

“So, if I can't sleep in a warm bed, at least I still want to have Takka's spicy jambalay dinner before heading to the haven, after delivering our hunting trophies! This whole mess made me hungry! What do you think, Prom?”

The prince did not hear any response, so he demanded again "We’re coming soon, Cid has even turned on the neon on the Hammerhead plaque! Prom? Are you still there, friend?

The gunner barely heard his name being said by his best friend as he staggered.

“Prom! What is happening? Talk to me!" Noctis held his friend's shoulders firmly, preventing him from falling forward, while the blonde also held on to him with his good arm. The he's pallor had given way to an intense red, the heat seemed to radiate from his skin as if he were a pan over a stove fire.

With the vision completely blurred, as if there were only a small tunnel of dim light and listening a louder hum, another wave of spasms hit Prompto squarely. He felt like he was going to be sick again and tried to get away from Noctis, but his stomach was faster than his mind and in a strong spasm, he vomited a lot of thick black goo and almost hit the prince's shoes.

“I think... I'm going to be sick...”

“It's a little late to let you know...”

“Sorry...” he apologized softly.

“Okay, never mind... Specs is here... He'll know what's going on..." the prince tried to reassure his friend and himself.

Ignis and Gladio quickly approached the two and the advisor promptly bit the tip of the right glove, removed it and placed a bare hand on Prompto's forehead. The prince still held his best friend by the shoulders, in front of him, the blond with his head down, his hair loose falling forward, humid.

“What the hell happened, Specs? He was fine a little while ago!” the shield questioned, concerned about that episode, and Ignis soon answered the obvious that was under his hand.

“Prompto is burning here...”

“But we are all in a desert, we are all hot!” complained Gladio impatiently.

“It is not a desert heat, it is a very high fever..." he replied, replacing the glove in his hand. When he watched the black puddle on the floor, he worried even more, while the blonde murmured excuses and some scared words.

Ignis analyzed quickly and efficiently, after all, Prompto really seemed to be better so recently. He risked looking at all the gooey mess on the floor and was able to observe the different shades of clotted red, probably bile mixed with gastric juice and blood. He touched his younger friend's shoulder and explained calmly.

“Prom, dear, listen to me carefully. I will not sweeten this for you. Clearly, something is wrong with you, it's not just a wound on your arm. It is not a good thing, but we can handle it. We will fix you. You understand me?” He ask, while rubbing small circles on friend's back.

“Right... I understand... I think that...”

“We don't have what we need to help you right now, so you need to have a little patience, that sabertusk that attacked you was different from ordinary animals...”

“My bad... sorry...” the gunner replied trying to nod his head, but it seemed too heavy for him.

“No need to apologize, none of this is your fault. It could happen to any of us. Let me know when you are feeling better so that we can continue and find a remedy for you to be well. We can manage this."

Ignis was actually trying to put his own ideas in order as he spoke, trying to give the blonde time to catch his breath.

“It's just a desert thing... I can keep... walking...” Prompto explained, his voice fading as he spoke.

“We will be ready when you are! Take time...” Gladio encouraged and readjusted the gunner in front of him and Noctis tried to loosen his best friend's shoulders.

With the three hovering around him, the blonde took a few unsteady steps, like a small child learning to walk. The knees were shaking as if they were going to collapse at any moment.

On the left side of Prompto, Ignis perceived what was happening better than Gladio, who was behind, and Noctis walked slightly ahead, always looking over his shoulder.

Therefore, the advisor did not take his hands off the youngest's back. He was watching closely his friend's breathing accelerating fast, while he seemed to be unbalanced as if he were drunk.

Even so, he kept walking, not giving up. He would never give up until his body was on edge and everyone knew it.

It was amazing how the unbalanced steps continued forward. Ignis kept his hand on his back and, each time the other man straightened up to walk, he felt his friend's breathing quicken and he thought it would be good stop walk for a little bit, again, before the blonde hyperventilated at any time, even if striving for that not to happen.

But Prompto caught their attention before Ignis put his thoughts into action.

“Hey, guys... you can go ahead... I need.. just a moment for...” this time, Prompto was unable to finish the sentence. His eyes rolled back on his head and he fell like a bag of boneless body, breathing so fast it didn't seem to exist.

Ignis gave a quick command when the blonde's voice started to creep, Gladio anticipated what would happen and held the smaller one by the armpits and behind the knees and suspended it as if it were a puppet without strings, when he passed out again. His conscience came and went, but this time he went once and for all.

The injured arm was stretched out, falling out of the shield's lap without the blonde showing any reaction to the pain that evidently ran through his bandaged arm at that moment.

This time, he really looked dead to the world, except for the heat that radiated from his skin and his breath. They were the only things that made him look a little alive.

The shield could feel the breaths coming out in small breaths of heat against his strong chest, as he watched the gunner's small chest rise and fall as if it were a little wounded bird in his arms. He could be sure that Prompto was much lighter in his strong arms.

Gladio's amber eyes were wide open, worried, just like Noctis's, and the prince quickly demanded.

“Ignis!” the prince almost screamed, his eyes panicked.

“Change of plans. I will hand over the evidence of the hunt and you two will go to the hotel with Prompto. We need an antidote and a medicine. I will be faster if I run alone, there is still a lot of light.” He replied, touching the gunner's neck with his fingers and checking the rapid rate of heartbeat in contrast to the slow second hand dragging on his wristwatch.

His green eyes narrowed and his lips turned into a straight line when he noticed the blond's mouth open loosely as blood dripped in a thin thread running down his face, his breaths fast, hot and shallow.

“Sabertusks are not poisonous and we didn't have enough gils! So we chose not to bring these items on this hunt!” the shield tried to find an explanation, even though he knew, in his soul, that Ignis understood what was going on and that he just didn't say everything that he knew to not create more panic, especially in Noctis, who floated between them, eyes wide with fear without knowing what he should do.

“I am well aware of this, but here is a part that you may not have understood. I can only reason and draw some conclusions with what we know at the moment about Prompto. Let me put all the information clearly: Prompto was bitten by sabertusk gamma, with the probability that his bone was exposed, there was a great loss of blood. He now has an absurdly high fever, hematemesis and unconscious even with very painful stimuli like this wound in your arm that is left here. Did I forget anything?” Ignis said, as quickly as assertively, as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, more out of a nervous tic than out of necessity.

Gladio thought about saying something, saying that his little boy would be fine, but he opened his mouth and nothing came out. He just swallowed that realization about the seriousness of the situation.

“Indeed, that's how I think now about what we should do...” he handed almost all the gil he still owned to Noctis and guided him. “Get a room at the motel. Gladio fill the bathtub with cold water and put Prompto there to decrease the temperature of your fever. Noctis, accompany them and make sure that that arm is not hurt any more than it already is. I will take the hunting gils and find you with supplies. I will arrive as soon as I can. Did you two understand? ” he did not wait for an answer and soon demanded it. "Now, go!"

The two friends nodded a quick 'ok' and the shield speeded up the pace as much as they could with the little blondie in his lap, while Noctis followed him with a tight heart.

In another direction, Ignis was running as if life itself depended on his actions. If he was going to think about anything while his lungs burned on the run, Prompto's life really was in his hands at that moment and depended on the choices the advisor had made.


	4. Now or never

Before long, what seemed like an eternity, they arrived at the hotel reception. It was just a counter and a carefree attendant listening to music fast while polishing her nails with a little file.

The woman offered a strange look, but she was used to injured hunters in that area. In addition, she had already seen that group talking to Takka or Cid a few times. So she just shrugged, took the gil and handed over a key with a keychain with the number four on it. She knew that there was another member of the team missing, but she preferred to be quiet, the hunters were usually not much to talk about.

Noctis still shuffled trying to open the door, but he did it. It was not a five star hotel, there were two single beds with sheets that looked old but also looked very clean. A small improvised kitchen, a small table with four chairs. Gladio immediately went to the bathroom.

“Noctis, turn on the tap and help me here...” the listening asked. He knew what to do in that high fever situation. Iris had had a fever so many times that he sometimes put the girl's clothes under the shower. So he knew it was better to take off dry clothes than to take off wet clothes that stuck to his body.

“What? Do you want to take his clothes off?”

“It is more effective ... come on, princess, unbuckle your belt and help me with this vest...”

"Don't even think! No way! I will not leave my best friend naked!"

Prompto's body was still limp in the arms of the shield, and that made things easier. However, it seemed that his fever was beginning to cause some delusions, because immediately he started to grumble, as if he realized what was happening.

“...It's not cool... I need some romance... oh, my dear...”

“It looks like he's still there!” Gladio and Noctis laughed a little.

The blonde could make any situation better, no matter how bad it was.

"I think he must be thinking about Cindy!" Exclaimed Noctos, but Gladio replied. "I think it's someone else..."

“...my little bird muscles... leave my shirt...”

“We need to let you take all of your clothes off, it will be better to lower the fever...” the prince explained. He knew that his best friend was reserved when running out of clothes in front of other people.

“...my stretch marks... are ugly... so ugly... don't look me..."

“It's as if only you have war scars like mine! I have huge ones! And you are very cute, I would even date you!” the shield responded and Noctis's eyes widened.

“It's like talking to a drunk, Noct, pretend it's only for a few minutes...” He still remembered Iris's latest fevers, when the girl was becoming a girl and wanted to cover herself in front of her older brother.

The prince threw his friend's dirty and bloody clothes behind the bathroom door and helped the shield to place the friend on boxers in the bathtub. In the first few minutes, there was not much reaction, just meaningless drunken talk, but soon the body started to shake and he started to complain again, without much energy to struggle, Gladio trying to contain the little man.

“Be quiet, punk! It will throw all the water out of the bathtub!”

“..this is torture... Noctis, go away, save yourself..." he said, his eyes still closed, trying to get rid of the cold water.

“...I promise... I finish training swords... I will be better..."

“Yes, you will train when you improve.” Gladio talked to Prompto while Noctis paid attention to what his friend was saying, while putting the puzze pieces together in his mind. The friend was declaring all the insecurities there in front of them and the shield continued to think it was just a fever thing.

“...I saw... guys... you don't need me..."

“That charmless prince?” Do you really think he doesn't need you? Stop, you fool..."

“...you are invincible, Noc... save yourself..”

“So you didn't see when I needed to carry the thin royal ass through Cidadel after some training.”

“...Iggy is so elegant... and beautiful... and charming... and perfect... oh, Ig...”

“Better save these for when Specs returns, Prom...” Gladio replied, blushing. He knew Prompto's admiration for Ignis, but he thought it was just a kid thing.

“...Gladdy is so strong... like a rock...”

“Let's try to wash some of that blood off your chest, okay?”

“...Noc... he is my only friend ... I do not deserve you... I have nothing..."

“What you're talking about is a fever thing, boy... Try awake... please...” the heart of the shield started to clench. Iris had suffered her mother's death, but she had a happy life. Her feverish delusions spoke of dolls and her girlish passion for Noctis. And that's it.

“...I'm a fraud, guys... I don't do anything right..."

Noctis are also know what to say. He couldn't keep looking at his friend saying those things about himself.

“...I'm a bad friend... a bad crownguard... I'm not good at all...” He ended with a tired sigh, the tremors subsided a little, his eyes half closed, tired.

At that moment, Noctis couldn't take any more of that conversation. He knows that Prompto was going in a spiral that went down to a dark place. He himself has been to that place a few times and did not want Prompto to go there either.

“What are you talking about, Prom? You are so important for us... all a us... Don't think diferent...” the prince begged, finding the conversation strange, when the friend was silent, unfocused eyes and looking nowhere. 

With an exhausted sigh, the eyes rolled back behind the head and your consciousness went out again. The body, still flaccid, floating in the cold water of the bathtub. It looked like a tiny short-circuited lamp. The only thing that prevented him from sinking there were Gladio's arms.

Noctis was already nervous, he had never seen Prompto so badly, and he feared that the worst would happen to his friend. Every moment the blonde passed out, the prince's stomach suddenly seemed to be empty, a knot twisting his belly inside.

“This is just 'fever talk', ignore what he says, Noctis, he will be fine...” the shield tried to calm down, but he himself knew that there was more to the blonde's soul, the fever was just putting it out.

“It’s not just that, it’s not a fever conversation, Gladio… I know Prom…”

“Iris also said meaningless things when she had a fever...”

“But what Prom is saying makes sense, it's true for him, I know him!”

“Then we will talk to Ignis, and we will need to talk together when all this is over, he cannot be thinking these things of himself. We know that he is nothing like that.”

“We know that he is nothing that he said, does he know that he is much better than he is saying in this 'fever talk'?”

“What do you want me to do now? Do you want me to shake Prompto until I wake him up and tell him how preciousus he is to us? Do you think this will solve it? Do you think it will take years of low self-esteem out of him?” the shield spoke louder, seriously, making Noctis wince. He lost patience quickly, he was not like the advisor. But he was trying to control himself in that situation with Prompto and Noctis was not helping.

“His fever seems to be under control. We will wait for Ignis to arrive, he will know what to do and what to say to Prompto. This matter is not over yet. And I already knew that this was not just 'fever talk'. I just couldn't let you get out of control like that! Take it easy! We will have our litlle bird back in no time, he is strong, he can take the blow!”

The prince and the shield looked with great affection and their heart squeezed looking Prompto, half-naked, still shaking in the bathtub, his head resting on the shoulder of Gladio and his right arm bandaged wet in the water. He didn't even complain about the burning or the pain anymore.

The gunner was tired, breathing weakly and shallowly, delirious. But it came with truths that he would never say if he were awake and lucid.

Before long, they heard the door creaking and the sound of things being placed on the table. Noctis ran out of the bathroom and found the table full.

“Did you take long, Specs, where were you? Prom is delirious... He's there saying things about not being good at anything... that horrible self-esteem is doing a lot of damage... and he's also saying things about you..." the prince commented, between the feeling of concern and jealousy of the friend. “He's my only friend... my best friend, do you understand? Did you really understand?!”

“To answer your first question, we needed adequate supplies. Antidotes, potions, medicines, elixirs. I will not take the risk that we have today. And as far as I can tell, you didn't help to keep the bandage dry. Now, answering your last question, I think I got it right and I think I’m fully able to help.” he commented, as he folded the long sleeves of his elegant shirt and organized, putting it together with his freshly removed gloves. He picked up some items and went into the bathroom, while Noctis followed him closely with panic eyes.

“How are we doing here, Gladio? Did you do what I saied?”

“He was holding on to a thread when we arrived, but the fever seems to have subsided a little. The conscience keeps coming and going, he didn't really awake up on any moment. The bandage on his arm ended up getting wet, but I think it was good, because we can see that it got infected... The damn creature really fucked his arm...”

Kneeling beside the bath, Ignis held Prompto's face in both hands, one on either side of his cheek, looking closely. He really looked like a little chocobo, a little bird, as Gladio would say. It looked so fragile, like a crystal that it could break if he let go.

When he felt those hands touch his face, the blonde immediately contracted, his breath hitching in small sighs again, the protective instinct acting alone.

“Shh... shh... Just breathe, Prom... Just keep breathing.” The advisor said, his voice full of tenderness. He suspected what the younger man's delirious were just by the look that Noctis gave him when he arrived. He had long suspected, but he would never risk his prince's only sincere friendship in so many years for a reverie of his heart.

Without delay, he held the blonde's neck gently, which was still limp in Gladio's support, and tilted his head back so that his mouth opened and he could drink the antidote. The blonde swallowed all the liquid in small sips, the body's instinct doing most of the work. His face was beginning to improve, his lips looking more moist, his face improving, his breathing returning to normal.

His arms and legs were still loose, almost floating in the cold water of the bathtub and it was heartbreaking to see the boy so vain with only boxers. He would really be ashamed when he heard the whole story.

However, everything seemed to improve so fast that Ignis was sure he did it right.

“I think that was the best choice... It was probably an animal with some mutation... Prompto was really poisoned. We would not be prepared for this type of situation, we have no record of poisonous sabertusks.” he explained, with a sigh of relief.

“Your hand... it's so soft...” Prompto said, his face resting on the hand of Ignis who had returned to his face. "So gentle... so good... how can it be so perfect..."

The advisor's eyes were confused for a second and Gladio came to his rescue. “He spent the whole time raving like that. I think we have a small case of innocent passion that was discovered here...” the older man smiled, sympathetic to his boy there exposed in that way and, when he noticed Ignis's face blushing, he completed the sentence. "I think you should be resolved soon, I can't stand Prompto sighing anytime you get close to him or offer him a compliment."

“We have more important things to worry about here, Gladiolus! Focus, please!”

“Yeah, yeah... leave it at that for now. Then, the fever is lower and he drank the antidote. What is the next step?"

“The next step is to fix this arm... but I prefer to do it with it drier, I think it will be better to control it if he feels pain. I think he'll be able to wake up with another potion...” that said, he took another bottle, and tried again in the same way, tilting the blonde's head. But this time, he was more awake and only half went down smoothly. Ignis was quick so that the rest would not spill.

“Wha - ow” he gasped, complaining when the injured arm hit the side of the tub.

“I beg your pardon, but you need to drink this potion, my dear...”

“Oh, Iggy... Let me keep dreaming...”

“No naps on this trip, I already told you! Come on, wake up!” Gladio shook his small shoulders a little, just to awaken the youngest, who opened his eyelids with some effort, but soon wanted to surrender to sleep.

“Eyes on me, Prom. Keep those beautiful blue eyes with me, okay?" The advisor's voice was sweet, even if still a little nervous. Now that he knew the blonde was no longer at risk of dying, he seemed to relax and allow himself to be more loving .

Noctis still watched as Ignis seemed to breathe deeply and his voice still carried that little tone of panic that he didn't know yet.

“If you take the rest of the potion and let me make a good bandage on your arm, I promise you can sleep until you get tired of lying down.” Ignis bargained and the prince raised an eyebrow, finding that behavior strange.

Anyway, the main thing was to see Prompto to be better as soon as possible. But the prince thought that if he went with him, the advisor would have been more rigid and firm, and he could not help feeling a twinge of jealousy. But he was soon called, and his mind left that feeling.

“Noctis, please give me that towel... that big one...”

The advisor had already removed the stopper from the bathtub and the water level was rapidly decreasing, taking away the blood that was in the gunner's body.

So, Ignis and Gladio helped the younger friend to stand, or as close to it as possible that, and wrapped the big towel around him.

Much more awake, because of the antidote and the potion, Prompto was ashamed of being so exposed to his friends. Sleeping in tents almost every night, taking care of injuries, seeing in underwear, it could all be natural for others, not for him.

He was still learning how to deal with all this, with all the things they need to do before arriving in Altissia. They had only obtained a Royal Arm for Noctis. Of the 113 Royal Arms that existed from the ancient kings, only thirteen known royal weapons had survived until those days... And they had only managed to get one. There was still much to be done and much to learn, both about Eos, about daemons, and about feelings.

Suddenly, a silence filled the hotel's small bathroom. Prompto was already better, almost really awake, looking at the shield and his best friend in shame. The advisor noticed what was happening the moment his green eyes crossed the gunner's blue.

“Gladio, I brought some Cup Noodles for immediate use until I prepared something substantial and nutritious... Noctis, what do you think of helping him to heat some water? No Takka's spicy jambalaya today, I'm sorry for that.” suggested Ignis, to which the prince was surprised.

“Where in all of Eos does Gladdy need help to heat water, Iggy? Evething that's because... ow!”

“Come on, Noctis, leave Ignis solving Prompto here, come with me! I need a lot of help to heat up some water!” replied the shield, pulling the prince by the arm as he closed the door as he left to leave the other two alone in the bathroom.

At some point, Ignis would need to talk to Prompto.

If he were to think and analyze well about the best day and the best time, the time would probably never come.

After that scare that he had experienced when he saw his little sunlight almost extinguished in Gladio's arms, on that moment when he thought his own soul had died out for a moment when Prompto passed out, perhaps it would be good to make some things clearer.

It was now or never.

(to be continued)


	5. One day at a time

When the door of bathroom slammed, Ignis already had Prompto almost dry, wrapped in a towel and sitting on the edge of the bathtub. The blonde looked at him with a red face again, but this time he wasn't hot fever.

“I think it's just adorable how you are able to change the color of your face.”

“This?" he said, stammering and bringing his hand to his red face. "Well... I've always been like that, I think it's a factory defect..."

“In my humble opinion, this is not a defect and, whoever says it in the future, I believe that it will need some corrective on my part. It's just cute... But, Now, let's take a look at this bandage...”

This time, Prompto did not withdraw his arm he got even more red flush. And that was quite curious in Ignis' eyes. He was testing the younger, feeling his way slowly to where that feeling was going. It was like trying to catch up with an aloof little bird. 

Gladio really seemed to be right in what he said.

The water had softened the bandages, and when they came out, the advisor could see a small yellowish discharge at the bottom of the wound.

“As I thought... it got infected... but it is not so bad, the potions we used on you still in the hunting area, in the desert, helped a lot to not get worse. I'm going to put some medicine in here, okay? It may sting, but don't pull your arm back. ”

“Okay... whatever you want...”

When he felt it sting, the gunner thought of pulling his arm, but he held on. This did not go unnoticed by the advisor, who gave him a sweet look. But touching his injured arm made Prompto sick again, and he suddenly raised his hand to his mouth while his eyes widened.

“Here, I will help you... don't worry, this will pass...” replied Ignis when he helped the blonde to lean over the toilet and throw up another amount of dark goo filled with clotted blood spots.

“What... What's going on with me, Iggy?”

“Here... brush your teeth to remove the rusty taste and stay firm, I'll be right back...”

While Prompto balanced himself to wash his mouth at the sink, Ignis left the bathroom for a few seconds to fetch the cell phone and clean clothes for the blonde and found Gladio and Noctis in small chuckles in the kitchen.

“I believe that such a funny joke should be shared with the whole team, it can help to improve the mood, don't you think? ”

“If I tell you, you will tell me to fuck myself, Specs...” the prince replied, receiving an elbow from Gladio right in the ribs.

“It seems that I wasted all my time when I tried to teach you good manners and good language, Your Highness... please, have some manners...”

The other two continued to laugh when the bathroom door slammed shut for both of them in a small crash.

“What did you get, Iggy?” said Prompto, sitting on the edge of the bathtub again.

“Some comfortable clothes for you to change, to be more comfortable and less embarrassed... and my cell phone that was on the table with the supplies. Now, open your mouth as wide as you can...” Ignis said, turning on the phone light.

The boy did what he was told and soon got the answer to the question he had asked before the advisor left.

“Here it is! When you threw up the first two times, while we were coming back, a blood vessel ruptured and you swallowed the blood. Only that. The potion you drank just now probably healed the pot, because I can still see the small red area with some clotted spots on the edge."

“I remember this sometimes happening when I was a child... I really had a lot of health problems and bad parents... well... I never figured out why some things happen... So it was just that?”

“Well, if you call yourself suffering from heat stroke in the desert heat, a trauma from an animal bite, the creature's contaminated saliva causing infection in your arm, the venom of the sabertusk gamma probably sending poison into the bloodstream, dehydration, of 'just that ', so... I believe it was just that..."

“Oh... 'sorry..." the gunner's face fell in disappointment. "I took a lot of work and you spent so much on me... I really am a waste..." he said slowly as he put on the clothes Ignis had brought and sat down again.

Meanwhile, the advisor sat next to the your friend on the edge, took a deep breath and looked at the gunner in detail.

He didn't quite understand how Prompto was able to depreciate himself so much... However, remembering the childhood he probably had, it was expected.

So, he really threw a bait. He wanted to know how deep his dear friend's words were.

“Answering your question, we used two potions in the desert and an antidote, another potion and a medicine here at the hotel, to be more exact, if we are going to speak in those terms, about 'wastes'...”

“I'm sorry, Iggy! I am a big mess... I am not helping anybody... Really, I am a big useless fraud..." he replied, hands wrapping the towel in his lap in some laps while he thought he had said too much. "I promise that going forward... I'll be able to change ... change everything..."

He did not complete the sentence. Ignis stepped forward and interrupted, seriously inquiring.

“How are you feeling now, my dear? Physically speaking."

Ignis wanted to try a different approach, but he also didn't want to take advantage of a momentary physical weakness. It would be like taking advantage of a drunk. He would never forgive himself if what he was going to do from then on caused major problems in Prompto.

“I'm fine... really... just tired of feeling useless nothing... I'm sorry for everything I said, I think it was..." the blonde replied, but he didn't finish the sentence.

The blue yes staring at his toes as he moved against the tiles on the bathroom floor. He closed them for fear of continuing to speak with Ignis, determined not to expose himself further. 

But the counselor was effective in restarting the conversation. Now, he knew what he was supposed to do.

"In my humble opinion, you underestimating your qualities and being very strict with yourself... If you allow me, I would like to show you what I think about everything you said..."

A hand without gloves touched his face, holding his thin chin, lifting his face. 

Prompto didn't know what to expect, he was still confused by everything that had happened, to have been attacked when he should have been paying attention, to have passed out when he should have remained strong, to have been half naked when he had never thought of showing his body to anyone.

With his eyes still closed, Prompto felt a warm breath very close to his and he thought he was getting sick again. The sweet hand stay on his chin and other hand appeared on his back, for to support his weight, because he felt that he was staggering, even though he was sitting.

“You make a mistake when you say these things about yourself, sweet Prom.”

His name being said in that unprecedented way, so wrapped in clouds of cotton candy, sent waves of heat and chills much better than the ones that the fever had sent... It was adrenaline again, that old acquaintance of his organism. A warm and rhythmic breath blew in his ear and he thought he was going to pass out again.

“You are a great ray that the sun warms us... you serve as a glue, that unite us all... you make Noctis smile... you make Gladio feel strong and powerful...”

His breath hitched again and... oh, god! He wouldn't have the courage to open his eyes at that moment... So he just kept them tightly closed. If that was a joke that the potions magic was playing on his senses, he preferred to remain confused.

“You are just the most helpful, selfless, loyal and beautiful person I could ever meet...”

That hot breath walked slowly down his neck, across his thin red flush face, across his cheek, hovering in the corner of his mouth. For a moment he forgot to breathe.

He was sure he had stopped breathing and that his heart had stopped together...

“You are perfect, in my opinion... is that enough for your self-esteem to understand, once and for all, that you are really important to us? For all of us. Especially, for me, Prompto... You don't need to change anything... My dear and sweet Prom...”

Really, he had stopped breathing...

Now, he was sure that if he opened his eyes, he would fall apart in dust, like everything in that desert of Leide.

However, the Ignis breathing got closer and closer, he could feel Ignis's hot breath against his own, breathing, leisurely, analyzing what the next step would be.

And when his lungs finally complained, because he had truly stopped breathing, burning, he sucked in the air... but warm lips found his and offered him all the air he needed to live.

The lips he always imagined could try, but which were unreachable.

Just a delicate, smooth, almost ethereal touch.

So warm, modest, respectful.

Just a touch of lips to lips, a simple, pure and warm gesture.

A meeting of souls, like subtle magic flowing.

And he really thought it could be the effect of the potions, the antidote or the medicine, or that he was dreaming. He would not risk opening his eyes and discovering that sweet taste was a fever delirium.

So he just gave himself up, sitting on the edge of the bathtub... his arms still loose and limp, his legs shaking softly, while his face was enveloped by the softest hand he had ever felt in his short life.

Another hand, as delicate and smooth as the one on his face, supported him on the back because, honestly, if that hand let go, he was sure it would melt completely and die right there. Her heart leaping against her chest in her living body for Ignis, but dead to the world.

And even if he died here and it was all just a fever delusion, he would be happy at last.

Prompto momentarily breathed in through his nose, afraid that if he tried to move his lips, maybe if smile that bright smile that only he had, but the lips that were against his would part and never return.

And letting out the air through his nose, he finally and really relaxed, a sigh, almost a whisper of relief and belonging.

The blonde felt light, like on peaceful sleep, cherished and desired for so long that he had forgotten what it was like to be wanted and loved by someone.

When his mind calmed down, his body hung up. Only the lungs and the heart really seemed to work, breathing and beating for the person who really brought him back to the real reality... 

He was useful, he was important...

He was loved for Ignis.

And he was where he was supposed to be and he didn't even know he belonged there until Ignis pushed the dark clouds out of his sapphire eyes and let his eyes shine.

Prompto was with the people who truly loved him for who he was.

It finally, he belonged to someone and somewhere.

If Ignis's hands didn't hold Prompto, maybe he was passing out on the floor, a body felt such a relaxation that the advisor's lips still continued to touch the blonde's until the Prom's head drooped loosely back, his body limp again.

Ignis hugged him tenderly and lifted him, not caring where the bloodstained clothes had been dropped or where the used towel had fallen. 

The advisor's right arm holding the gunner's torso, while the blond head rested on his shoulder. The left arm under the knees.

With a few firm steps, he walked in the small bathroom and turned the door handle with his left hand, trying not to lose his balance or that little bird in his arms.

“What happened?! What you do with him?!" Noctis demanded from where he was, in the kitchen near Gladio.

“Prompto is just resting, Your Highness... I will prepare a nutritious soup and tomorrow morning he will be better... much better, indeed.”

Without paying much attention to the prince's grumbling, Ignis gently arranged Prompto in one of the single beds and the blonde soon curled up on his side, turning towards the wall, with a calm, flushed and almost healthy face. 

The advisor sat next to him, a small towel in his hands, stroking the blond strands while drying gently.

Across the hotel room, in the small kitchen, Noctis looked at Gladio and frowned, almost irritated. The eyes were almost violet, the fists were closed and the breath was almost heavy, the jealousy of the friend and the advisor rising through his veins. 

Noctis had never been so possessive, maybe a little, but was also learning from those feelings.Until that trip, the little chocobo was almost exclusively yours. Only yours.

“Prompto is my best friend! Will they be okay? He can never suffer again as he has suffered alone...”

The shield, with a life experienced in matters of sentiment, replied, trying to end that kind of affair with the prince, at least for the time being.

“Give them time... You know Ignis, he's the most careful guy there is. And you know Prompto, the brightest little bird there."

With an understanding smile on his lips and a sigh of relief and satisfaction, the shield completed.

"So... give him a break and learn to share those that you love. Prom is not a toy that you can monopolize forever... Also.. trust them, because they only need to live one day at a time.”

~~~~ The end ~~~~

**Author's Note:**

> I needed to correct some mistakes, so, I'm sorry for editing after posting...  
> Maybe a little too self-indulgent. Anyway, I hope someone likes it.  
> If you made it this far, thank you very much!  
> And, if you can, let me know your opinion on this story.  
> Kisses and until next time ^-^


End file.
